I have to admit I am not a fan of "Battlefield" the franchise. I am a fan of Battlefield 3. That was the game I learned on and that's the game that taught me the difference between great FPS and not so great FPS. I don't have anything against them and I wouldn't mind playing any of the earlier incarnations of what has become one of the most popular video game brands of all time. Still, I want to make it clear, that I don't know a damn thing about anything that came before Battlefield 3. Never played them, may never get a chance. With that said, I am a Battlefield 3 player, oh yes, I am that.
For the past two years, I have played BF3 consistently every week, sometimes more, sometimes less. I would honestly assess my skills as above average. I am a hard-earned level 22 (never used a shotgun but I will put your Heli down with an IGLA in a heartbeat), and I can pretty much play any class/kit and kick some major booty.
The ONLY thing I can't do is fly and goddamn it why should I? If God wanted us to fly ... seriously, I can't fly. It's really just a thing of spending the time to figure out the controller movement, and eventually, I will get around to it, but for now why does it matter? I have too much fun playing the game without flying to really care.
The same can be said for BF4. I purchased an online copy of BF4 about a month after its initial release. Since then, it's all I ever really play. It is, in my humble opinion, the finest FPS of its kind, for numerous reasons.
First, IT IS A TRUE EVOLUTIONARY STEP IN THE FRANCHISE. By this I mean, it is not simply a new iteration of the former release but represents a comprehensive upgrade to its predecessor.
Everything from the kits to the game play to the vehicles to the MMO experience, all of it has been tweaked and improved, (notice I didn't even mention the graphical interface or the animation). The environments, the actual battlefields are beautifully drawn and rendered. The composition of the visual fields are some of the richest I have ever seen, in any class of game.
I could go on and on about the the various ways in which BF4 is a better game than BF3 but instead I have selected a few of my favorite aspects of the game which I know you will enjoy as well. Beginning with the second reason I believe BF4 to be the best FPS ever made: THE TEST RANGE, or what I call a "test server".
In a previous life, I worked as a software engineer, supporting and debugging code for HP. Test servers were often an integral part of the troubleshooting process, just like they are for the programmers at Activision and EA. Test servers are used to find bugs in the game. The TEST RANGE however, is not for finding problems with the game, it's for finding problems in the PLAYER'S game. By putting it in BF4 the creators have truly revealed the love they have for their loyal customers.
If you want to get better at something, you need to practice. The painful learning curve that one must assume in a game like Battlefield is challenging enough without having to also suffer the consequences of your inexperience by amassing an ugly K/D ratio. Well, the Test Range isn't going to change the fact that if you've never played the game before, chances are your going to get killed a lot at first. BUT, it does help you to improve your skills with the weapons in your kit and with the use of the plethora of air-water-land vehicles at your disposal, thus becoming a better all around player faster.
Another fan-friendly improvement is the COUNTS AS KILL. This is applied to your points when you have reduced your enemies life to below a certain amount, then even if you die, you still get credit for the kill. I am not a big fan of the whole "K/D IS EVERYTHING" school of thought because it has resulted in a game in which there are WAY TOO MANY SNIPERS. Players that sit on top of ridge a mile a way and just pad their K/D ratios.
That being said, I hate just as much when my enemy's life is down to 0 because I just emptied my clip into him but before I can finish the job, something happens: I die, my buddy kills him, etc. So I lose the kill point. NOT ANYMORE. Now my kill ratios reflect a more accurate assessment of my activity during the game.
In Part 2, I will continue my discussion of what I consider to be the best of the best of BF4, in particular, its watery theme.
Don't Forget My PSN is JOHNDAVIDFLORES. Come find me and lets blow things up together.
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